In Sacramento, California, this week the Alliance to Address the Youth Sports Safety Crisis in America hosted a summit designed to "raise awareness about youth sports safety and promote legislation to improve health care for young athletes." The alliance is comprised of 30 groups, including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the California Brain Injury Association and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.
From the NATA website on the summit:
Recent studies point to a significant increase in catastrophic injuries that result in death or permanent disability, despite best efforts to prevent and treat them. In fact, there were at least 115 sports-related deaths in 33 states over the past two years. Brain injury, devastating heat illness and sudden cardiac arrest are just a few of the serious conditions suffered by children on the playing field. The traditional sports philosophy of “playing through pain” can result in younger athletes, who are eager to make a good impression, continuing or returning to the playing field, when sitting out or going home would be the safer and more logical course of action.
Some of the speakers included Cindy J. Chang, MD, former head team physician for the University of California’s 27 athletic teams and assistant clinical professor at UC Davis and UC San Francisco; Diane Claerbout, a board member of Parent Heart Watch, the national voice dedicated to protecting youth from sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death; Rebecca A. Demorest, MD, associate medical director of pediatrics and young adult sports medicine at Children’s Hospital Oakland; Beth Mallon, the founder of Advocates for Injured Athlete; and Leigh Steinberg, a nationally acclaimed sports attorney who has represented 150 professional and Olympic athletes. Also speaking was Assemblymember Mary Hayashi, California’s 18th Assembly District, who planned on discussing California Assembly Bill 533, requiring coaches and athletic trainers to be licensed in first aid certification.
For more information on the summit and the Alliance to Address the Youth Sports Safety Crisis in America visit www.youthsportssafetyalliance.org
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